Advances in and physics of the acceleration of particles using underdense plasma structures driven by lasers were the topics of presentations and discussions in Working Group 1 of the 2010 Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop. Such accelerators have demonstrated gradients several orders beyond conventional machines, with quasi-monoenergetic beams at MeV-GeV energies, making them attractive candidates for next generation accelerators. Workshop discussions included advances in control over injection and laser propagation to further improve beam quality and stability, detailed diagnostics and physics models of the acceleration process, radiation generation as a source and diagnostic, and technological tools and upcoming facilities to extend the reach of laser-plasma accelerators.

Physics experiments aimed at deducing key parameters for use in a variety of programs critical to the mission of the National Laboratories require actinide targets placed onto various substrates. The target material quantity and the substrate desired depend upon the type of experiment being designed. The physicist(s) responsible for the experimental campaign will consult with the radiochemistry staff as to the feasibility of producing a desired target/substrate combination. In this report they discuss the production of U and Pu targets on very thin C and Ti substrates. The techniques used, plating cells designed for, tips, and limits is discussed.

Algorithms for counting the occurrences of special events in the framework of partially-observed discrete event dynamical systems (DEDS) were developed in previous work. Their performances typically become better as the sensors providing the observations become more costly or increase in number. This paper addresses the problem of finding a sensor configuration that achieves an optimal balance between cost and the performance of the special event counting algorithm, while satisfying given observability requirements and constraints. Since this problem is generally computational hard in the framework considered, a sensor optimization algorithm is developed using two greedy heuristics, one myopic and the other based on projected performances of candidate sensors. The two heuristics are sequentially executed in order to find best sensor configurations. The developed algorithm is then applied to a sensor optimization problem for a multiunit- operation system. Results show that improved sensor configurations can be found that may significantly reduce the sensor configuration cost but still yield acceptable performance for counting the occurrences of special events.

The installed performance of cooking exhaust fans was evaluated through residential field experiments conducted on a sample of 15 devices varying in design and other characteristics. The sample included two rear downdraft systems, two under-cabinet microwave over range (MOR) units, three different installations of an under-cabinet model with grease screens across the bottom and no capture hood, two devices with grease screens covering the bottom of a large capture hood (one under-cabinet, one wall-mount chimney), four under-cabinet open hoods, and two open hoods with chimney mounts over islands. Performance assessment included measurement of airflow and sound levels across fan settings and experiments to quantify the contemporaneous capture efficiency for the exhaust generated by natural gas cooking burners.Capture efficiency is defined as the fraction of generated pollutants that are removed through the exhaust and thus not available for inhalation of household occupants. Capture efficiency (CE) was assessed for various configurations of burner use (e.g., single front, single back, combination of one front and one back, oven) and fan speed setting. Measured airflow rates were substantially lower than the levels noted in product literature for many of the units. This shortfall was observed for several units costing in excess of $1000. Capture …

This best practices guide is the eleventh in a series of guides for builders produced by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America Program. This guide book is a resource to help builders design and construct homes that are among the most energy-efficient available, while addressing issues such as building durability, indoor air quality, and occupant health, safety, and comfort. With the measures described in this guide, builders in the marine climate (portions of Washington, Oregon, and California) can achieve homes that have whole house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark (a home built to mid-1990s building practices roughly equivalent to the 1993 Model Energy Code) with no added overall costs for consumers. These best practices are based on the results of research and demonstration projects conducted by Building America’s research teams. The guide includes information for managers, designers, marketers, site supervisors, and subcontractors, as well as case studies of builders who are successfully building homes that cut energy use by 40% in the marine climate. This document is available on the web at www.buildingamerica.gov. This report was originally cleared 06-29-2010. This version is Rev 1 cleared in Nov 2010. The only change is the reference to …

This report consists of Two research projects; Sustainable Buildings and Hydrogen Storage. Sustainable Building Part includes: Wind and the self powered built environment by professor P. Land and his research group and experimental and computational works by professor D. Rempfer and his research group. Hydrogen Storage part includes: Hydrogen Storage Using Mg-Mixed Metal Hydrides by professor H. Arastoopour and his research team and Carbon Nanostructure as Hydrogen Storage Material by professor J. Prakash and his research team.

Here we review experimental data and models of the ignition of aluminum (Al) particles and clouds in explosion fields. The review considers: (i) ignition temperatures measured for single Al particles in torch experiments; (ii) thermal explosion models of the ignition of single Al particles; and (iii) the unsteady ignition Al particles clouds in reflected shock environments. These are used to develop an empirical ignition model appropriate for numerical simulations of Al particle combustion in shock dispersed fuel explosions.

A ferrocene-based biscatecholamide ligand was prepared and investigated for the formation of metal-ligand supramolecular assemblies with different metals. Reaction with Ge(IV) resulted in the formation of a variety of Ge{sub n}L{sub m} coordination complexes, including [Ge{sub 2}L{sub 3}]{sup 4-} and [Ge{sub 2}L{sub 2}({mu}-OMe){sub 2}]{sup 2-}. The ligand's ability to swivel about the ferrocenyl linker and adopt different conformations accounts for formation of many different Ge{sub n}L{sub m} species. This study demonstrates why conformational ligand rigidity is essential in the rational design and directed self-assembly of supramolecular complexes.

Three breakthrough runs using silver mordenite sorbents were conducted and a dynamic sorption capacity estimated based on MeI analysis from a 2" bed. However, it is now believed the data for the first 2 runs is incomplete because the contributions from elemental iodine were not included. Although the only source of iodine was MeI, elemental iodine was generated within the sorbent bed, presumably from a recombination reaction likely catalyzed by silver mordenite. On-line effluent analysis with a GC was only capable of analyzing MeI, not I2. Scrub samples drawn during Run #3, which are specific for I2, show significant levels of I2 being emitted from a partially spent Ag-mordenite bed. By combining MeI and I2 analyses, a well defined total iodine breakthrough curve can be generated for Run #3. At the conclusion of Run #3 (IONEX Ag-900 was the sorbent) the effluent level from Bed 2 was approaching 70% of the feed concentration. The leading bed (Bed 1) had an estimated average loading of 66 mg I/g sorbent, Bed 2's was 52 mg I/g. The corresponding silver utilizations (assuming formation of AgI) were about 59% and 46%, respectively. The spent sorbents are being sent to Sandia National Laboratories for confirmatory …

Given proper care in siting, design, deployment, operation and maintenance, marine and hydrokinetic technologies could become one of the more environmentally benign sources of electricity generation. In order to accelerate the adoption of these emerging hydrokinetic and marine energy technologies, navigational and environmental concerns must be identified and addressed. All developing hydrokinetic projects involve a wide variety of stakeholders. One of the key issues that site developers face as they engage with this range of stakeholders is that many of the possible conflicts (e.g., shipping and fishing) and environmental issues are not well-understood, due to a lack of technical certainty. In September 2008, re vision consulting, LLC was selected by the Department of Energy (DoE) to apply a scenario-based approach to the emerging wave and tidal technology sectors in order to evaluate the impact of these technologies on the marine environment and potentially conflicting uses. The project’s scope of work includes the establishment of baseline scenarios for wave and tidal power conversion at potential future deployment sites. The scenarios will capture variations in technical approaches and deployment scales to properly identify and characterize environmental impacts and navigational effects. The goal of the project is to provide all stakeholders with an …

The Hybrid Energy Systems Testing (HYTEST) Laboratory is being established at the Idaho National Laboratory to develop and test hybrid energy systems with the principal objective to safeguard U.S. Energy Security by reducing dependence on foreign petroleum. A central component of the HYTEST is the slurry bubble column reactor (SBCR) in which the gas-to-liquid reactions will be performed to synthesize transportation fuels using the Fischer Tropsch (FT) process. SBCRs are cylindrical vessels in which gaseous reactants (for example, synthesis gas or syngas) is sparged into a slurry of liquid reaction products and finely dispersed catalyst particles. The catalyst particles are suspended in the slurry by the rising gas bubbles and serve to promote the chemical reaction that converts syngas to a spectrum of longer chain hydrocarbon products, which can be upgraded to gasoline, diesel or jet fuel. These SBCRs operate in the churn-turbulent flow regime which is characterized by complex hydrodynamics, coupled with reacting flow chemistry and heat transfer, that effect reactor performance. The purpose of this work is to develop a computational multiphase fluid dynamic (CMFD) model to aid in understanding the physico-chemical processes occurring in the SBCR. Our team is developing a robust methodology to couple reaction kinetics …

The Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) prototype project is currently under development at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The ERL is expected to demonstrate energy recovery of high intensity beams with a current of up to a few hundred milliamps, while preserving the emittance of bunches with a charge of a few nanocoulombs produced by a high current SRF gun. To successfully accomplish this task the machine will include beam diagnostics that will be used for accurate characterization of the three dimensional beam phase space at the injection and recirculation energies, transverse and longitudinal beam matching, orbit alignment, beam current measurement, and machine protection. This report outlines requirements on the ERL diagnostics and describes its setup and modes of operation. The BNL Prototype ERL is an R&D effort aimed at reducing risks and costs associated with the proposed RHIC II electron cooler and eRHIC collider. The ERL will serve as a test bed for developing and testing instrumentation and studying physics and technological issues relevant to very high current ERL's. The prototype ERL, mated to a high current SRF gun, is expected to demonstrate production and energy recovery of high intensity, low emittance beams with a current of up to a few …

A wide range of high capacity on-board rechargeable material candidates have exhibited non-ideal behavior related to irreversible hydrogen discharge / recharge behavior, and kinetic instability or retardation. This project addresses these issues by incorporating solvated and other forms of complex metal hydrides, with an emphasis on borohydrides, into nano-scale frameworks of low density, high surface area skeleton materials to stabilize, catalyze, and control desorption product formation associated with such complex metal hydrides. A variety of framework chemistries and hydride / framework combinations were investigated to make a relatively broad assessment of the method'™s potential. In this project, the hydride / framework interactions were tuned to decrease desorption temperatures for highly stable compounds or increase desorption temperatures for unstable high capacity compounds, and to influence desorption product formation for improved reversibility. First principle modeling was used to explore heterogeneous catalysis of hydride reversibility by modeling H{sub 2} dissociation, hydrogen migration, and rehydrogenation. Atomic modeling also demonstrated enhanced NaTi(BH{sub 4}){sub 4} stabilization at nano-framework surfaces modified with multi-functional agents. Amine multi-functional agents were found to have more balanced interactions with nano-framework and hydride clusters than other functional groups investigated. Experimentation demonstrated that incorporation of Ca(BH{sub 4}){sub 2} and Mg(BH{sub 4}){sub 2} in …

ADEPT Project: GeneSiC is developing an advanced silicon-carbide (SiC)-based semiconductor called an anode-switched thyristor. This low-cost, compact SiC semiconductor conducts higher levels of electrical energy with better precision than traditional silicon semiconductors. This efficiency will enable a dramatic reduction in the size, weight, and volume of the power converters and electronic devices it's used in.GeneSiC is developing its SiC-based semiconductor for utility-scale power converters. Traditional silicon semiconductors can't process the high voltages that utility-scale power distribution requires, and they must be stacked in complicated circuits that require bulky insulation and cooling hardware. GeneSiC's semiconductors are well suited for high-power applications like large-scale renewable wind and solar energy installations.

This work is at a relatively early stage, however it has been demonstrated that we can reliably probe basic network architectures using the MQ-NMR technique. The initial results are in good agreement with what is known from standard network theory and will serve as a basis for the study of progressively increasing structural complexity in Siloxane network systems.

I discuss the phase diagram of QCD in the large N_c limit. Quarkyonic Matter is described. The properties of QCD matter as measured in the abundance of produced particles are shown to be consistent with this phase diagram. A possible triple point of Hadronic Mater, Deconfined Matter and Quarkyonic matter is shown to explain various behaviors of ratios of particles abundances seen in CERN fixed target experiments.

The reaction of Cp'2CeH (Cp' = 1,2,4-(Me3C)3C5H2 ) with MeOSiMe3 gives Cp'2CeOMe and HSiMe3 and the reaction of the metallacycle, Cp'[(Me3C)2C5H2C(Me) 2CH2]Ce, with MeOSiMe3 yields Cp'2CeOCH2SiMe3, formed from hypothetical Cp'2CeCH2OSiMe3 by a [1, 2] shift also known as a silyl-Wittig rearrangement. Although both cerium products are alkoxides, they are formed by different pathways. DFT calculations on the reaction of the model metallocene, Cp2CeH, and MeOSiMe3 show that the lowest energy pathway is a H for OMe exchange at Ce that occurs by way of a sigma-bond metathesis transition state as SiMe3 exchanges partners. The formation of Cp2CeOCH2SiMe3 occurs by way of a low activation barrier [1, 2]shift of the SiMe3 group in Cp2CeCH2OSiMe3. Calculations on a model metallacycle, Cp[C5H4C(Me)2CH2]Ce, show that the metallacycle favors CH bond activation over sigma-bond metathesis involving the transfer of the SiMe3 group in good agreement with experiment. The sigma-bond metathesis involving the transfer of SiMe3 and the [1, 2]shift of SiMe3 reactions have in common a pentacoordinate silicon at the transition states. A molecular orbital analysis illustrates the connection between these two Si-O bond cleavage reactions and traces the reason why they occur for a silyl but not for an alkyl group to the difference …

An interconnected electric power system is a complex system that must be operated within a safe frequency range in order to reliably maintain the instantaneous balance between generation and load. This is accomplished by ensuring that adequate resources are available to respond to expected and unexpected imbalances and restoring frequency to its scheduled value in order to ensure uninterrupted electric service to customers. Electrical systems must be flexible enough to reliably operate under a variety of"change" scenarios. System planners and operators must understand how other parts of the system change in response to the initial change, and need tools to manage such changes to ensure reliable operation within the scheduled frequency range. This report presents a systematic approach to identifying metrics that are useful for operating and planning a reliable system with increased amounts of variable renewable generation which builds on existing industry practices for frequency control after unexpected loss of a large amount of generation. The report introduces a set of metrics or tools for measuring the adequacy of frequency response within an interconnection. Based on the concept of the frequency nadir, these metrics take advantage of new information gathering and processing capabilities that system operators are developing for …

This paper is the final paper in a series of papers that discusses passive quench protection for high inductance solenoid magnets. This report describes how passive quench protection system may be applied to superconducting magnets that are connected in series but not inductively coupled. Previous papers have discussed the role of magnet sub-division and quench back from a conductive mandrel in reducing the hot-spot temperature and the peak coil voltages to ground. When magnets are connected in series, quench-back from a conductive mandrel can cause other magnets in a string to quench even without inductive coupling between magnets. The magnet mandrels must be well coupled to the magnet circuit that is being quenched. When magnet circuit sub-division is employed to reduce the voltages-to-ground within magnets, the resistance across the subdivision becomes the most important factor in the successful quenching of the magnet string.

The personal dose equivalent, H{sub p}(d), is the quantity recommended by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) to be used as an approximation of the protection quantity Effective Dose when performing personal dosemeter calibrations. The personal dose equivalent can be defined for any location and depth within the body. Typically, the location of interest is the trunk where personal dosemeters are usually worn and in this instance a suitable approximation is a 30 cm X 30 cm X 15 cm slab-type phantom. For this condition the personal dose equivalent is denoted as H{sub p,slab}(d) and the depths, d, are taken to be 0.007 cm for non-penetrating and 1 cm for penetrating radiation. In operational radiation protection a third depth, 0.3 cm, is used to approximate the dose to the lens of the eye. A number of conversion coefficients for photons are available for incident energies up to several MeV, however, data to higher energies are limited. In this work conversion coefficients up to 1 GeV have been calculated for H{sub p,slab}(10) and H{sub p,slab}(3) using both the kerma approximation and by tracking secondary charged particles. For H{sub p}(0.07) the conversion coefficients were calculated, but only to 10 …

We present results from a study to determine an acceptable CO{sub 2} laser-based non-evaporative mitigation protocol for use on surface damage sites in fused-silica optics. A promising protocol is identified and evaluated on a set of surface damage sites created under ICF-type laser conditions. Mitigation protocol acceptability criteria for damage re-initiation and growth, downstream intensification, and residual stress are discussed. In previous work, we found that a power ramp at the end of the protocol effectively minimizes the residual stress (<25 MPa) left in the substrate. However, the biggest difficulty in determining an acceptable protocol was balancing between low re-initiation and problematic downstream intensification. Typical growing surface damage sites mitigated with a candidate CO{sub 2} laser-based mitigation protocol all survived 351 nm, 5 ns damage testing to fluences >12.5 J/cm{sup 2}. The downstream intensification arising from the mitigated sites is evaluated, and all but one of the sites has 100% passing downstream damage expectation values. We demonstrate, for the first time, a successful non-evaporative 10.6 {micro}m CO{sub 2} laser mitigation protocol applicable to fused-silica optics used on fusion-class lasers like the National Ignition Facility (NIF).

ICF power plants, such as the LIFE scheme at LLNL, may employ a high-Z, target-chamber gas-fill to moderate the first-wall heat-pulse due to x-rays and energetic ions released during target detonation. To reduce the uncertainties of cooling and beam/target propagation through such gas-filled chambers, we present a pulsed plasma source producing 2-5 eV plasma comprised of high-Z gases. We use a 5-kJ, 100-ns theta discharge for high peak plasma-heating-power, an electrode-less discharge for minimizing impurities, and unobstructed axial access for diagnostics and beam (and/or target) propagation studies. We will report on the plasma source requirements, design process, and the system design.

How can DOE, NNSA, and Y-12 best handle the integration of information from diverse sources, and what will best ensure that legacy data will survive changes in computing systems for the future? Although there is no simple answer, it is becoming increasingly clear throughout the information-management industry that a key component of both preservation and integration of information is the adoption of standardized data formats. The most notable standardized format is XML, to which almost all data is now migrating. XML is derived from SGML, as is HTML, the common language of the World Wide Web. XML is becoming increasingly important as part of the Y-12 data infrastructure. Y-12 is implementing a new generation of XML-based publishing systems. Y-12 already has been supporting projects at DOE Headquarters, such as the Guidance Streamlining Initiative (GSI) that will result in the storage of classification guidance in XML. Y-12 collects some test data in XML as the result of Electronic Data Capture (EDC), and XML data is also used in Engineering Releases. I am participating in a series of projects sponsored by the PRIDE initiative that include the capture of dimensional certification and other similar records in XML, the creation of XML formats …

This document is the final technical report for Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-04NT41992, 'Pilot Testing of Mercury Oxidation Catalysts for Upstream of Wet FGD Systems,' which was conducted over the time-period January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2010. The objective of this project has been to demonstrate at pilot scale the use of solid catalysts and/or fixed-structure mercury sorbents to promote the removal of total mercury and oxidation of elemental mercury in flue gas from coal combustion, followed by wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) to remove the oxidized mercury at high efficiency. The project was co-funded by the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL), EPRI, Great River Energy (GRE), TXU Energy (now called Luminant), Southern Company, Salt River Project (SRP) and Duke Energy. URS Group was the prime contractor. The mercury control process under development uses fixed-structure sorbents and/or catalysts to promote the removal of total mercury and/or oxidation of elemental mercury in the flue gas from coal-fired power plants that have wet lime or limestone FGD systems. Oxidized mercury not adsorbed is removed in the wet FGD absorbers and leaves with the byproducts from the FGD system. The project has tested candidate materials at pilot scale and in a commercial …